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Oquirrh Lake is a man made lake in the middle of the Daybreak Community in South Jordan. The trail around it is pretty nice and you can enjoy ducks, coots, geese and other fun birds along the way. It is one of those neighborhood trails that runs along people backs yards, but there is also the lake to enjoy. I had been hanging onto this one to do again on a yucky day, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do today so we came here again. Last time we were here there was some construction that detoured us and cut our adventure short so I am happy we returned today to do the full thing.
Quick Details:
Length: About 3.3 mile loop, with shorter options.
Trail Type: Loop, loop de loop, out and back, connector options.
Difficulty: DR2. It is paved with very mild hills.
Elevation Gain: About 16 feet.
Restroom: I noticed 2 sets of restrooms, but they were both closed for winter.
Dogs? Yes, leashed. Please clean up after your furry friends.
Other Info:
To Get Here:
Take Bangerter Highway to 10400 S. and head west. go about 1.3 miles and take the 2nd exit on the traffic circle to stay on S. Jordan Pkwy. Go about 300 ft and turn left onto Rubicon Rd. Find parking.
That is the easiest directions to the north end of the lake. Honestly you can park pretty much anywhere around the lake (as long as there are no signs prohibiting it). Today we started on the southwest end after our adventure at Sunrise Mountain Park which is off of 114th south.
The Trail:
We parked next to The Beach Club on Kestrel Rise Rd. where there is a little marina of sorts.
Boat docks.
So, this is the part that was under construction last time we were here, so most of this first section is new to us.
I wonder if they keep the thin ice signs up all year, or only in winter. And if not, what do they have up in the warmer months?
The lake.
Every time I find myself in Daybreak my mind just autoplays the theme song to Weeds. Here are the first 2 verses.
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same
No offence to anybody living there, they just look very cookie cutter to me.
The lake again.
Some American coots. These birds are fun. They dive for food, and they have ridiculous feet!
Pedestrian bridge onto the island.
The lake and mountains.
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Panoramic.
Fun artwork.
Papa Wheelie by Fred Conlon, installed 2018.
Little overflow pond for the outlet.
The lake.
They ask that you do not feed or touch the birds. While most ponds have been putting up signs advising of better food options than bread, Daybreak just decided to say no feeding at all. Which is totally their prerogative. I get it. It is a million times easier to just ban an activity than to convince people to modify their behavior.
Continuing along.
…little houses on the hillside….
The lake again.
Duckies!!!
I don’t know what startled them but suddenly we found ourselves in the path of quite a few flying ducks! It was equally neat and terrifying.
The lake again.
There are a lot of connecting paths. I found generally just stay to the left when traveling counterclockwise, unless the path on the left was not paved.
Another pedestrian bridge onto the island.
The lake again.
Frozen side wetland.
Ducks and coots.
The lake.
One of the 2 car bridges to the island. This one is on the east side, the other one is on the west side. Both are connected by the same through road, Isla Daybreak Rd.
The lake again.
Another statue. I imagine it was by the same artist as the previous one, but there is no plaque for this one.
Some more docks, this is Eastlake Park.
Right around here is a playground too.
Nice little beach.
The restrooms are different than most public restrooms. Looks like they made them beach themed.
As I mentioned above, they are closed during winter.
Another dock.
The lake. There are quite a few inner side trails that are not paved. From what I can tell, these appear to coincide with official fishing areas. I’m not 100% sure of that, but that is what it seemed like.
Phragmites. These darn things are so invasive they took over a fairly new lake!
Geese!
The lake.
Geese.
The lake.
Huh. I didn’t get a shot of it, but there is another pedestrian bridge around here that you can use if you want to just do the shorter main loop (looks like it is approximately 2 miles). Otherwise, keep chugging along the north arm.
Last time we crossed back over here so this part on the east side is new to us too.
The Crosswater Bridge. We are now on the north arm of the lake, and past the island. The bridge just crosses the north arm of the lake. It is kind of a neat bridge though.
Underneath.
This mural is a little… unnerving. No indication of the artist either.
The north arm of the lake.
American coots.
The north arm.
Fishing area and rules.
Next to peoples houses. Oi.
Nearing the end of the north arm where there is a large bay.
McMahon Bay Beach on the other side.
There is a random boardwalk through a little wetland through here. The paved trail does continue to the right and probably doesn’t add much but either trail will continue around the lake.
Geese, ducks, and coots.
More boardwalk.
Frozen edges.
Bridge over one of the "inlets"… at least I think it might be an inlet.
Said inlet.
Tip of the north arm.
Another fun sculpture. Again, it looks like the same artist, but there is no plaque.
Last light.
American coots.
Okay really, last light.
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Panoramic.
Little bit of a sunset.
Geese.
Docks at McMahon Bay Beach.
Another neat art piece.
Closer.
Cadence by Deedee Morrison. Installed 2022.
American coots.
Heading towards the docks, which marks us returning to the south on the west side.
Random bell. I decided to see if it was an actual bell and gave it a gentle pull. Even with my gentle pull I could tell that it was designed to not be super loud even with a vigorous pull. Hooray for people thinking of residents.
The lake.
That Harmons and those apartments are new.
Looking back at the bay with the mountains above.
Fish Hook Stream another “inlet”. Unless there is a random spring I can't locate, I suspect this is diverted from Bingham Creek. But, that is just a guess.
Another set of restrooms. Which also appear to be closed for the season.
The lake.
The Waterside Club Pavilion.
Another section that has an inner path.
The lake.
Giant nutcracker.
Approaching the other side of Crosswater Bridge.
Some shallows.
The mural on the other side.
It is a pretty neat bridge.
Underneath.
Geese.
The lake.
Cute little bench with the Daybreak logo on it.
The lake.
Lake and mountains.
More geese.
Pedestrian bridge before the main lake loop.
Back to the main lake loop.
Mountains.
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Panoramic.
More big nutcrackers.
The lake.
The bay in front of West Beach Park.
Duckies.
Another shallow area.
West Beach Park.
Another fun sculpture. I assume it is also by Fred Conlon but, there isn’t a plaque for this one either.
West Beach Park. They actually have beach sand here. I kind of want to come here during the warmer months and play in the sand.
From the back.
Fun painted electrical box.
I’m not sure if this is another “inlet” or if it is just a water feature.
Where it heads towards the lake.
The lake and mountains.
The lake.
Lots of waterfowl poop on this section. Yuck.
Another fun painted electrical box.
From the other side LOL.
Big striped rock.
The west bridge onto the island. We will get to that in a minute though, we still have another bay to get through.
More big nutcrackers. I particularly like these ones.
A giant Santa. That thing is like 2 stories tall!!!
There is a pedestrian bridge over this small bay and you definitely want to use it. There is a paved trail that goes down to the bay, but it stops on the north side. I mean, I guess you could continue across the grass just fine, but if you want to stay on paved then use the bridge.
The small bay below. If this one has a name, it’s not on the map.
Looking back towards the lake.
Closer look at our geese friends.
Giant snowman. Man the folks in daybreak sure like their giant Christmas decorations.
Cute decorations.
The west bridge to the island again. We had to cross here last time so after this is all new to us today.
Mount Timpanogos and the lake.
Looks like these are higher density units.
The lake and mountains.
Not sure if this is another “inlet” or just storm water management.
Nice little beach with some docks.
Boat launch. Which is a little awkward. The way it is situated seems like it would be a bit of a pain to not only get your boat in there, but to back it into the lake too. Just.. what were they thinking here?
Digging through some historical maps, it looks like the ramp existed before the development. So, they just kind of hodgepodged around it I guess.
Looking back towards the island bridge with the interesting tower.
Picnic area with cornhole boards. Looks like you would have to supply your own bean bags.
Lake and mountains.
Again.
Back to the Beach Club where we parked. We used the stairs on the left, but I see there is a ramp on the right. Of course there are quite a few other options that are more wheelchair/stroller friendly as well.
American coot. Look at those ridiculous feet!
Another.
Fun lounges built into the hill.
We just have this little dock left before we complete our loop.
The little bay.
Random shower.
The final stairs back up to Kestrel Rise Rd. where we parked.
Mountains as we head back home (Passenger Seat Photography (PSP)).
For a man made lake, in a crowded community, this is actually an enjoyable trail. I am also glad we were able to complete the full loop this time. There were a couple busier sections, but considering how dense the housing is, it wasn't super busy for the most part. I imagine it might be a little busier when it is warmer. But meh, that was a super easy 3+ mile walk that didn’t feel like it was quite that long. Going with 8 out of 10 squirrels today.
As for difficulty, it is completely paved and fairly flat. Any stairs have nearby ramps. DR2.
Dogs are allowed, but must remain leashed. Please clean up after your furry friends.
